Monday, August 01, 2011

Without getting into detail until after the Debt Ceiling Bill is signed into law...

...I personally believe President Obama brilliantly executed the 'the deal.' 


Chloramine VS Free Chlorine in City Water.


City Changes its Disinfection Process for Drinking Water (click title to entry - thank you)

July 22, 2011
The city of Greensboro issued the following news release:
Starting the week of July 25, The City of Greensboro Water Resources Department in cooperation with Archdale, Burlington, High Point, Jamestown, Randleman, Reidsville, and the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority will convert its water system disinfectant from free chlorine to chloramines. The change will occur to comply with new, more stringent drinking water regulations.

Chloramine disinfectant is a chemical combination of chlorine and ammonia used together to eliminate bacteria from drinking water. The use of chloramines will lower the level of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) that are produced when chlorine reacts with organic matter in source water. The change will also reduce the taste and odor concerns associated with chlorine disinfection methods.

Chloramines are an effective disinfectant used by many water utilities across the United States. While chloramines are safe for drinking and all other everyday water uses, kidney dialysis patients, fish and amphibian owners, and specialized industries should take special care....


Chloramine has to be limited to 4ppm in water consumed through municipal systems.  


WHY?


Because unlike Free Chlorine which metabolizes quickly, chloramine can have some very nasty outcomes.  Does anyone ever expect at some point there would be an INCORRECT dosing into a water supply?  What would happen if it were Free Chlorine?  Not a thing.  But, chloramine has issues.  Patients on kidney dialysis can't be exposed to it through their kidney dialysis machines.  



Adding chloramine to the water supply can increase exposure to lead in drinking water, especially in areas with older housing; this exposure can result in increased lead levels in the bloodstream and can pose a significant health risk.

There is also evidence that exposure to chloramine can contribute to respiratory problems, including astham among swimmers.  Respiratory problems related to chloramine exposure are common and prevalent among competitive swimmers.
Chloramine use, together with chlorine dioxide, ozone and ultraviolet has been described as a public health concern and an example of the outcome of poorly implemented environmental regulation.   These methods of disinfection decrease the formation of regulated by-products, which has led to their widespread use. However, they can increase the formation of a number of unregulated cytotoxic and genotoxic byproducts, some of which pose greater health risks than the regulated chemicals, causing such diseases as cancer, kidney disease, thyroid damage, and birth defects.

Old Housing.  Anyone familiar with Greensboro and the surrounding area knows that there is much more old housing than new housing.  In order to get the chloramine out of the water from the tap one has to perform a dousing of the water with free chlorine and about 24 hours of ultraviolet exposure from the sun in order to remove the lousy stuff.



Chloramine can be removed from tap water by treatment with superchlorination (10 ppm or more of free chlorine, such as from a dose of sodium hypochlorite bleach or pool sanitizer) while maintaining a pH of about 7 (such as from a dose of hydrochloric acid). Hypochlorous acid from the free chlorine strips the ammonia from the chloramine, and the ammonia outgasses from the surface of the bulk water. This process takes about 24 hours for normal tap water concentrations of a few ppm of chloramine. Residual free chlorine can then be removed by exposure to bright sunlight for about 4 hours.

Sections of the Yellowstone River are heavily impacted from the Exxon Mobile oil spill. Not Valdez, Montana. Amazing the one place everyone that was safe.



Wednesday, July 27, 2011 2:24 PM MDT

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has issued consumption advisory for fish caught in the Yellowstone River in the area of a July 1 oil spill.

People who have caught fish in the river between Buffalo Mirage fishing access site near Park City and the confluence with the Bighorn River near Custer should be cautious about consuming them.

Fishing in that stretch of the river has been negligible since late spring because of high runoff levels and flooding. Most FWP fishing access sites in that stretch of river have been closed for several months by flooding. And FWP asked boaters to stay off of the river between the Laurel and Lockwood highway bridges to accommodate oil spill cleanup.

Last week FWP biologists started capturing fish below the oil spill site and sending them to a laboratory for testing. Test results should be returned in the next two weeks and FWP will publish the data so fishermen can determine whether their catch is suitable for consumption....



Exxon Mobile claims here is ONLY 1000 gallons spilled.  Did they use the same formula BP did?  After all, what is a little oil spill between friends?  Right?  Absolutely.  Not like it cost the taxpayers anything after all.  And the Republicans want to leave all this responsibility up to whom exactly?  No one? I see.





...The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (click title to entry - thank you)  in a statement last week said crews were "finding numerous, heavily oiled flood debris piles at various locations along the shoreline and on the islands."


In its latest update on survey operations along the Yellowstone River, the EPA said it found 2.7 percent of the first 10 miles of river downstream from the pipeline break were heavily affected by oil. Less than 1 percent of the next 18 miles were observed to have heavy oil impacts, the agency said in a statement.


Because of the amount of oil-soaked debris left when floodwaters along the Yellowstone River receded, the response includes nearly 900 personnel engaged in remediation and assessment efforts.


The EPA said it had to airlift some equipment into areas previously inaccessible....

"Khapra Beetles" are considered one of the worst invasive species in the world.



As a JOBS Strategy the Republicans want an across the board moratorium on Federal Regulations.  Defunding the government seems right to them.  


Go figure.


"New Pest Response Guidelines for Khapra Beetle"  (click here)


The khapra beetle is one of the world’s most destructive pests of grain
products and seeds. Populations of this pest can build rapidly in a short time
under hot, dry conditions. Grain damage, depending on existing conditions often reaches 30%; up to 70% damage has been reported. Khapra beetle has
earned a reputation as a dirty feeder, since it damages more kernels that it
consumes. Feeding and contamination by khapra beetles results in the
following changes to grain: weight loss, reduction in grade, and quality
damage of processed products (USDA–APHIS–PPQ, 1983).


Customs officials seek to keep grain-eating beetles from appearing in American storehouses after two discoveries in N.J. ports (click title to entry - thank you)

Published: Sunday, July 31, 2011, 2:00 PM
By Tomas Dinges/The Star-Ledger 
 Customs officials are ramping up efforts to prevent any more grain-eating beetles from showing up in American storehouses, officials said.
Inspectors have found the Khapra beetle in imports in greater numbers this year, including two recent discoveries at New Jersey ports. In response, they are restricting shipment of grains from 26 countries where the beetle is known to exist. Shipments from those countries will only be allowed if the grain has been inspected and is accompanied by a certificate stating that it is free of Khapra beetles.
The new regulations went into effect Saturday, said Erlinda Byrd, a U.S. Customs and Border Prevention spokeswoman.
On Tuesday, inspectors in Port Newark found a larvae of the Khapra beetle in a shipment of Pakistani rice, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Anthony Bucci.
In February, inspectors found several live larvae and an adult male beetle in a shipment of beans to Port Elizabeth.
The introduction and establishment of the beetle, scientifically known as the Trogoderma granarium, poses a "serious threat," to stored agricultural products, including spices, grains and packaged foods, customs officials said….


I am sure many remember the Mediterranean Fruit Fly.  The problem with invasive species is THE COST to the American Taxpayer and Consumer when the price of food goes up due to a beetle infestation that can be prevented with better inspections at the borders to the USA.


Description:


Adult beetles are brownish and 2 to 3 millimetres long. Immature larvae are up to 5 millimeters long and are covered in dense, reddish-brown hair. The eggs of the khapra beetle are cylindrical with one end more rounded and the other more pointed, about 0.7 mm long and 0.25 mm broad, weighing about 0.02 mg.  The pointy end has a number of spine-like projections.  The eggs are initially a milky white but over several hours turn a pale yellowish color

Yuan strengthens to record against dollar (click title to entry - thank you)

NOW:

7:29 AM In a sharp reversal,(click here)  the greenback gives up the bulk of its overnight gains against the yen and the swiss franc, now back at all-time lows. Perhaps the focus is now returning to the struggling U.S. economy. 

On July 29, 2011, NLY had a huge plummet at the opening of the day from over $17.00 per share down to almost $14.00 per share. (click title to entry - thank you)



Annaly Capital Management Inc.




NLY


Formerly known as Annaly Mortgage Management, Annaly Capital Management is a real estate investment trust which invests in mortgage pass-through certificates, collateralized mortgage obligations, and other mortgage-backed securities. Interest and principal payments on the firm's investments are guaranteed by government-sponsored agencies including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. Annaly commenced operations in 1997 and is based in New York City.


Whom exactly thought they knew what was best for the country, why and now much damage did they do along the 'path of idiocy' as NYL still hasn't recovered from all the political ideology of the Right Wing!


All of the investment securities (click here) Annaly
owns are issued and guaranteed by U.S. Government
Agencies and carry an actual or implied AAA rating. 

The Defacto Speaker of the House



Senator Mitch McConnell says, "It’s because of soldiers like Grover that the conservative movement is so vibrant today and that the liberals who thought they had taken over two years ago are on the run."

In the words of Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist is “the person who I regard as the most innovative, creative, courageous and entrepreneurial leader of the anti-tax efforts and of conservative grassroots activism in America . . . He has truly made a difference and truly changed American history.”


Grover G . Norquist, a native of Massachusetts, has been one of most effective issues management strategists in Washington for over two decades.

Mr. Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a taxpayer advocacy group he founded in 1985 at President Reagan’s request. ATR is a coalition of taxpayer groups, individuals and businesses opposed to higher taxes at the federal, state and local levels. ATR organizes the TAXPAYER PROTECTION PLEDGE, which asks all candidates for federal and state office to commit themselves in writing to oppose all tax increases. In the 112th Congress, 236 House members and 41 Senators have taken the pledge. On the state level, 13 governors and 1249 state legislators have taken the pledge.

Norquist chairs the Washington, DC - based “Wednesday Meeting,” a weekly gathering of more than 150 elected officials, political activists, and movement leaders. The meeting started in 1993 and takes place in ATR's conference room. There are now 61 similar "center-right" meetings in 47 states.

Mr. Norquist also:


Serves on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association of America.


Serves on the board of directors of the American Conservative Union.


Serves on the board of directors of The Nixon Center


Serves as a Contributing Editor to the American Spectator Magazine.


Serves as president of the American Society of Competitiveness.


Authored two books Rock the House and Leave Us Alone – Getting the Government’s Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives


In the past, Mr. Norquist served as:


A commissioner on the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce.


A commissioner on the National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service.


Economist and chief speech-writer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (1983-1984.)


Campaign staff on the 1988, 1992, 1996 Republican Platform Committees.


Executive director of the National Taxpayers’ Union.


Executive director of the College Republicans.

Oppressive.

Discriminatory.

Inequity.

The SINGLE largest driver of the deficit and national debt.